Thailand Premiere of Savitri at BACC Auditorium on Nov. 2nd and 3rd

Opera Siam International/Bangkok Opera Foundation

in conjunction with Office of Contemporary Art and Culture

and the Bangkok Art and Culture Center

present

Schubert's

DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

and

Holst's complete opera in one act

SAVITRI

Barbara Zion as Savitri • Antoine Garth as Satyavan

Pitchaya Kemasingki as Death

Women's Chorus of the Siam Orpheus Choir

Shounen-Thai Quartet

Siam Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble

stage director Aramenta Mileski

dramaturge and producer Somtow Sucharitkul

costumes Ubonwan Moonkantha

conductor Nadanai Laohakunakorn

BACC Auditorium, November 2 and November 3 at 7 pm

The story of Savitri, the Indian Queen who defied the God of Death to save her husband's life, is known to every Thai. There's a beautiful adaptation of the story by HM King Rama VI, and Thai students learn the story in school as part of the received traditional of Thai culture. The story has its origins in the Mahabharata.

Gustav Holst, the British composer familiar to everyone for "The Planets", wrote a one-act opera based on this story. His version is an austere, beautiful piece which pares the tale down to its classical essentials, accompanied by a small ensemble.

As part of its ongoing series of chamber operas Opera Siam/Bangkok Opera presents the Thai premiere of this work with a local cast.

In the first half of the double bill, Thailand's youthful Shounen-Thai Quartet performs Schubert's famous Death and the Maiden quartet, another work that plays with the contrast between a beautiful woman and death. One of the most famous of all string quartets, it is a work of high drama and lyricism.

Tickets will shortly go on sale at Thai Ticketmajor Outlets (www.thaiticketmajor.com) for 600 baht (half price for students). In the meantime they can be reserved by calling Ratana at (02) 231-5273 or sending an email to her at ratana@bangkokopera.com.